Review: Tattenbach, Munich, Germany

On our first attempt to go to a little Bavarian pub with good reviews, we were foiled by a lack of research on our own part. With most shops and many restaurants in Munich closed (by law!) on a Sunday, Tattenbach, our dining location of choice, was closed. A few days later we just happened to be in the same district of Munich and decided to revisit Tattenbach for lunch and make up for lost time. I’m glad we made this effort, because it was here that we had one of the better Bavarian-style meals that we had during our stay in Munich.

It was a little past the official lunch hour, so the pub was relatively quiet. Groups of local office workers out for their midday meal were just getting ready to leave as we arrived, and instead we found ourselves in the restaurant with a few solo older men who were there to read their newspapers over a pint of beer. At one point, the bartender came out to have his meal as well with a few friends who had dropped by.

The interior of the pub is everything you would imagine of a traditional Bavarian pub with old-fashioned dark wood panelling on both walls and floor. Old wrought iron chandeliers and cosy little corner booths complete the scene. It’s very much a smaller and quainter pub when compared to pubs like Augustiner am Platz and the famous Hofbrauhaus. With its size, comes a certain local authenticity – you know that it’s locals who dine here, not tourists.

We ordered a drink each – an Augustiner Brau lager for K, and I ordered an ‘orange juice’ which ended up being a San Pellegrino Aranciata. Interestingly, it seems as though Bavarian pubs have contracts with particular local breweries – Tattenbach carried only Augustiner Brau beers. It’s definitely a change from Australia where you can get everything from a Carlton to a Heineken or a Sapporo on tap.

This style of brand loyalty highlights a certain sense of local pride in the Bavarian brewing tradition which is commendable. When a beer is as light and drinkable as an Augustiner lager, a perfect accompaniment to heavy Bavarian meals, this loyalty makes a lot of sense!

To go with his lager, K ordered the Bavarian Pork Neck Steak. Served with the most delightfully crunchy thin-sliced roast potatoes and crispy fried onions on top, the steak was cooked quite well. While I found it a little bit fatty, K enjoyed the meat with some of the fragrant herbed butter spread on top.

I ordered the Bavarian pork shoulder with crackling – a much better choice for me as the meat was quite lean and tender. The separate piece of crackling did have a thin layer of fat inside which helped to moisten the crunchy piece of hard crackling. Most delightful when soaked in the rich beer gravy, with a mouthful of the surprisingly light potato dumpling. The bread dumpling on the other hand was a bit dry, but improved with liberal lashings of the gravy.

You’re probably thinking that the two meals we ordered were rather meat-heavy! I’ve often found that on our travels – often there’s just not enough healthy vegetables served with a meal, leaving you feeling particularly bloated. It certainly makes staying healthy and maintaining weight a lot more difficult while on holidays.

Luckily, both our meals came with their own respective side salads – an extremely fresh and crunchy sauerkraut for me (only light dressed, mixed with some delicious parsley and fennel seeds for extra flavour), and a simple garden salad for K (unfortunately overdressed, but a good variety of vegetables).

Tattenbach is a gorgeous little Bavarian pub that acts as a true ‘local pub’, rather than a tourist trap like Hofbrauhaus. The beers are local and the food is rich, full of flavour, and fantastic value. I’d highly recommend going to Tattenbach to anyone who’s after great local Bavarian food and drink, without the noisy tourist crowds.

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About Gourmanda

Melbournian feminist food fanatic. Fan of organisation and order, planning and purpose. Tinkers with words for a living. Married to K, High Expectations Asian Tiger Mother to Matilda and cat mama to Mr Darcy.